A whistleblower who was one of two social workers who raised the 'Grace' case has said the experience has taken a "big toll" on him and claimed: "The State will try to crush you."
Iain Smith, who worked as a social work manager in the HSE's Waterford office when he first became of aware of Grace in 2007, said the handling of the case is a "very strong deterrent to whistleblowers in Ireland".
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, he said: "I think anyone who's thinking of coming forward in Ireland and divulging tales of abuse that they have heard in their workplace needs to know what the State can do to you.
"The State can crush you, the State will try to crush you."
Yesterday, the Farrelly Commission published its long-awaited report into the 'Grace' foster home abuse case in the southeast of the country.
The near 2,000-page 13 million investigation said it could not establish that marks and bruises on her were the result of serious physical or sexual abuse.
Speaking today, Mr Smith described the case as a "long-running intrigue", involving "many, many different parties" over a "long period of time".
He defined "intrigue" as an "entanglement," and to try to "recharacterise" it as "institutional failures is a fundamental error not just of the Farrelly Commission but also of other reports as well".
He said it had taken a "big toll" on him emotionally, financially, and on his family.
Becoming aware of 'Grace' case
Mr Smith explained that he had been working in the HSE's Waterford...
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